It looked good on the label. And, to the best of my recollection, the product info described a loving pet owner in Colorado whose longtime canine companion died too young. The owner — let’s call him “Tom” — decided his doggie’s demise was due to poor nutrition from low quality dog food. Tom’s tale glistened on shiny placards and from full-color tri-fold brochures. And most importantly to me, the product, called Pet Promise, touted that there were no animal by-products in the ingredients.

Animal by-products are the dregs of the food chain, if you can call them food. When an animal carcass is stripped of everything commonly useful, the remaining bone, skin, hair, ligaments, eyeballs, toenails, tumors, tissues…

When it comes to what we put in our bodies, Americans make poor choices. It’s clear that we suffer from diet-related diseases that are killing us. Some of the hazards in what casually passes for “food” in the Standard American Diet, or SAD, are clear and present: bad fats, sugars, empty calories, additives. Other hazards are not so clear: genetically modified organisms (GMOs), preservatives and processed foods.

As a rule of thumb, one can make a sweeping generalization that if you are not preparing the meals you eat completely from scratch or if you are dining out, you are eating food that detracts from your health, rather than promotes it. And, no, baking a frozen pizza is not…

Neptune, the mystical ruler of Pisces, rules mysticism, inspiration, that which can’t be defined, illusion, confusion, delusion, the color purple, the number 9, and the “doorway” to/through the next level. If you can define it, it’s not Neptune. Last week was all about Neptune. Confused yet? Let’s take a mystical peak at this week. There are no mistakes. Peace and love shall conquer all. MOJOPOPlanetPower.com

l PISCES (2.20-3.20) Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to think. You don’t have to! It’s your season; you don’t need a reason. It’s your season of dreams on the sea of tranquility. Mystics rule. Get holy. Do your yoga — whatever that means to you. Drink deep from the ocean…

Prepare for the polemic, a challenge to your beliefs. Some may find this list disagreeable but present-day perception is not its prism. Viewed through the perspective of time, it may become clear.

Unless one can identify the problem, a solution is impossible. For their untold effects on health and wellness, we offer history’s Top Ten Most Disastrous Inventions. These have wrought havoc on the human race. Of course, there will be those who point to them as boons to mankind. For your consideration:

The Internal Combustion Engine When time has run its course and clarity prevails, the damage done to the earth and its inhabitants by this once-believed good idea will be tallied. We could have found…

What a difference a week can make in the world of college basketball. It seems like just yesterday the Creighton Bluejays were soaring, with just 2 losses all season while playing some of the best, most inspiring basketball seen by the program in at least a decade.

The Jays, led by the stellar play of sophomore phenom Doug McDermott, had climbed all the way to 12th and 13th place in the major college polls. ESPN braketologists had the Jays pegged as high as a #3 seed for the Big Dance. This was all the makings of a dream season for the Creighton program. Then the alarm clock went off and the Jays hit snooze.

As a professional piercer at Big Brain in Omaha, Brown’s main mission each day is to pierce as many, um, body parts as possible. But more than that, Brown is intent on building long-lasting relationships with his clients, something that clearly separates him from the herd.

The piercing industry has exploded in recent times. People aren’t just piercing their ears anymore. Furthermore, they are finding other ways to adorn their bodies.

“The microdermals, which are those diamond implants in the skin, are pretty popular. That’s a good chunk of…

Shane O’Neill is not your average tattoo artist. His ambitions are endless. Instead of just sitting around tattooing butterfly tramp stamps and tribal bands all day, he has taken his art to a whole new level. Armed with a bachelor in Fine Arts from the Philadelphia University of the Arts, O’Neill specializes in realism, portraits, wildlife and horror, but his skills aren’t limited when it comes to tattooing.

“Sometimes it makes no difference that I have a degree, but there are times that it does come in handy. It might be color theory, drawing, drawing and more drawing,” O’Neill jokes. “There is a very common misconception that if you draw, paint or airbrush that you will be a…